Volkswagen testing bidirectional charging electric vehicles. Written by Daniel Fearns and read to you by Cassidy, subscribe to Electric Vehicle News Bitesize Podcast for FREE!
Kaluza has partnered with Volkswagen Group UK, OVO Energy and Indra on a vehicle-to-everything (V2X) bidirectional charging trial.
The Inflexion consortium brings together energy, mobility and technology companies to develop V2X business models and valuable customer products that it hopes will increase the affordability and adoption of electric vehicles.
V2X technology allows drivers to power their homes with their EVs, use their EVs as backup power during outages, and sell excess energy back to the grid, helping reduce their energy and mobility costs while accelerating their mobility decarbonization.
Likewise, V2X presents opportunities for energy providers and utilities to engage drivers in the energy transition through innovative services and manage the impact of mass adoption of electric vehicles and increased renewable energy generation.
Inflexion, part of a government-funded V2X innovation program, marks what is believed to be the first real-world deployment of bi-directional charging using Combined Charging System technology – for compatibility with most modern Electric Vehicle models – through software optimization such as Kaluzas.
Energy and climate minister, Graham Stuart, said: “We want to make smart charging an easier choice for drivers of electric vehicles, whether that is charging on the driveway, at the workplace, or parked on the street.
“To do that we need to build new network infrastructure at pace, using the latest available technologies.”
The program aims to demonstrate the capabilities of the technology with Volkswagen Group’s latest CCS vehicles and prioritizes working with Volkswagen Group brands and OVO Energy customers to ensure the solution meets the needs of Electric Vehicle drivers.
Stuart continued: “Today’s plan sets out how we will work with Ofgem and industry to kickstart the market for smart charging, which we are backing it up with £16 million in innovation funding. This will let people take control of their energy usage, in the most convenient and low-cost way.”
The consortium will deploy a domestic vehicle-to-grid (V2G) device powered by Kaluza’s software and Indra’s hardware, allowing drivers to earn around £420 a year, with some earning up to £800 by selling electricity for their electric cars back into the grid.
Inflexion’s V2X will enable future Electric Vehicle drivers to unlock more potential from their vehicles, including powering their homes, and through CCS compatibility, will enable millions of drivers to take advantage of it, no matter which vehicle they own.
It builds on Kaluza’s charging software for V2X and grid services developed over the past four years.
Scott Neuman, CEO at Kaluza, said: “V2X will have a transformative effect on decarbonising our energy system but only if we make it accessible and affordable for all.
“Inflexion is an exciting step for the industry to engage and learn from real Electric Vehicle drivers and bring this game changing technology closer to true, commercial scale.”
The program is funded by the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) and implemented by Innovate UK.
V2X is part of the up to £65m Flexibility Innovation Programme, funded from the £1 billion BEIS Net Zero Innovation Portfolio.
The first phase of the project, which will focus on developing a V2X charging solution, will begin in September.
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